PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan has said that the provincial government is considering the option of opening a few essential businesses under a specific schedule subject to the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) and guidelines keeping in view the problems faced by the traders, business community and the general public in the current situation.
“The government is working on devising a workable strategy to this effect and very soon, traders will get good news in this regard very soon,” he added.
Talking to a delegation of small traders of Peshawar city who had called on him at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat here on Tuesday, the KP CM discussed matters related to the opening of some business units essential with regard to the month of Ramzan and the upcoming eid.
The delegation comprised Malik Abdullah Khan Saraf, Zafar Khattak, Abdul Razaq Chitrali, Sheikh Razaq, Bashir Zada and others while Provincial Minister for Labour Shaukat Yousafzai and Principal Secretary to CM Shahab Ali Shah were also present on the occasion.
Talking to the delegation, the chief minister said that the government fully realised the difficulties faced by the business community and general public, however, difficult decisions including the lockdown are meant to ensure the safety of all segments of society.
He assured that the provincial government would do whatever it could to mitigate the sufferings of the businesses community while ensuring the safety of the general public against coronavirus.
“As per the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s vision, we are taking all the necessary measures to protect people from the corona pandemic as well as from hunger and starvation,” Mahmood Khan remarked.
The delegation highly appreciated the provincial government’s step to resolve the issue faced by shopkeepers with regard to the payment of rents for shops which remained closed due to lockdown.
The chief minister termed social distancing as of vital importance in containing the outbreak of coronavirus and urged representatives of shopkeepers and traders to play their role in the implementation of social distancing and other preventive measures in their respective circle of influence, adding that without the strict implementation of social distancing and other preventive measures, even slight ease in the lockdown will cause a huge loss if an outbreak happens
“That would be a situation which we cannot afford,” he said.
“Containing the outbreak is the responsibility of not only the administration and police. It is the joint responsibility of all,” Mahmood Khan remarked, urging all segments of society to team with the administration in this regard.
Members of the delegation thanked the chief minister for listening to their problems and assured their full support to the government in implementing the SoPs and guidelines.
